Wintershall starts gas production from Sillimanite field

Wintershall Noordzee BV started gas production from its operated Sillimanite field in the southern North Sea. Discovered in 2015, Sillimanite lies directly north of Wingate natural gas field and stretches across the UK and the Dutch Continental Shelves some 200 km off the coast of Den Helder.

The field will use the twice-recycled topside of the recently decommissioned E18-A platform, formerly P14-A topside.

Wintershall Noordzee is a 50-50 joint venture between Wintershall Dea and Gazprom EP International. In October 2015, Gazprom International obtained a 50% stake in Wintershall Noordzee following an asset swap deal between Gazprom and Wintershall Holding GmbH (OGJ Online, Oct. 2, 2015).

Also in the southern North Sea, the company expects a final investment decision on the Dutch Rembrandt-Vermeer oil development late this year. The development concept is a proven southern North Sea type shallow water installation. On Vermeer, an integrated wellhead, process, utility and living quarters platform on top of a subsea storage tank as well as an offloading installation for oil export with shuttle tankers will be built. On Rembrandt, a normally unmanned wellhead platform with minimal facilities is planned.

The company also is evaluating the development potential of the Greater Ravn area in Denmark (OGJ Online, Apr. 19, 2017).